Into the Badlands is a solid drama with a great martial arts edge. It’s like nothing else on television – and that’s a Good Thing. We gave it an A based on the premiere and the remaining five episodes did nothing to cut into that initial score.

The DVD release of the first season – entitled Into the Badlands (not Into the Badlands Season One for some reason) – contains the show’s initial six episodes and a host of bonus material (much of it available on the show’s website).

Into The Badlands (AMC, Sundays, 10/9C) brings martial arts mayhem back to television in a way that works beyond all expectations. To quote from AMC’s website, ‘Five hundred years after the end of the world, seven Barons control the Badlands. To protect what is theirs, each Baron has recruited an army of Clippers, deadly fighters trained in the art of killing.’

Sunny is the best/worst of the Clippers but circumstances arise that make him consider leaving his Baron’s turf and striking out away from the Badlands. Those circumstances include a mysterious boy with a dark secret; Sunny’s girlfriend (serious relationships are a no-no for Clippers) and the fact that he’s about to become a father, and a growing coalition between the other Barons to oust his boss.

AMC is building a unique identity among TV networks: it has no identifiable house style, but instead has focused on niche audiences that aren’t being served on network or (most) cable stations. Hence shows like Mad Men, Breaking Bad, Better Call Saul and so on.

Their newest series, Into The Badlands is a martial arts series tweaked for the present day – a modern retelling of Journey to the West. Follow the jump for a look at the first official teaser.

Whether you’ve stumbled onto the work of Tung-Shing [Derek] Yee through his oddball romantic comedy The Truth About Jane and Sam, or the more uptempo revenge movie, One Nite in Mongkok, you will find something new and different with his latest film to reach DVD, Protégé.

Protégé features Daniel Wu as Nick, an undercover cop who has become a vital component of drug lord Lin Quin’s operation. In a great piece of counter-intuitive casting, Lin is played by actor/singer Andy Lau, who breaks from his leading man/hero roles to play a decade older bad guy who, like Tony Soprano, loves his family but is ruthless in business.

Although Protégé is a gangster flock, it is not an action movie. Rather, it’s a closely examined character study. In the course of his investigation, Nick meets Jane [an excellent Zhang Jing Chu], a single mom whose drug habit makes her unreliable – and whose ex [Louis Koo] is constantly trying to get her back. Jane is a complication because Nick begins to care about her even as he fails to understand what could have led her to become a junkie. At the same time, Lin is suffering complications from diabetes and thinking of retiring and leaving his business in Nick’s hands. In Protégé, the characters are clearly driving the story.

Yee’s pacing is a hair faster than deliberate; he doles out information and character development in a fairly smooth manner. What bursts of action there are produce a greater impact in this otherwise much more controlled tale. More importantly, the action is derived from the character development.

Protégé is as much about honor, integrity and the possibility for redemption as anything. While I’ve seen this kind of movie from any number of international directors, this is the first time I’ve see it from a force in Hong Kong movies. Anytime I encounter a movie that draws me in and makes me ponder the value of friendship, the importance of honor and family, I figure it’s been a good day.

It’s been a good day.

Features: an engaging, informative and entertaining Audio Commentary by Hong Kong cinema expert, Bey Logan; The Making of Protégé featurette; Under & Over the Edge – Interview with Daniel Wu; Chasing the Dragon – Interview With Zhang Jing Chu; The Dealer – Interview With Producer Peter Chan, and the Original theatrical Trailer.